The resemblance isn’t particularly striking, so I’ll alert you to the fact that this is supposed to be Ronald Reagan, circa the days he was public enemy number one in my book. I mentioned yesterday that on the way to Kazo, we got sidetracked by the sight of a huge 100-yen shop, and ended up spending close to an hour (and 3,000 yen) inside. Well, this was one of the things I came away with. I wasn’t really in need of a Ronald Reagan mask, of course. (Nor was I in need of most of what I bought yesterday, but it’s hard to exert self-control when everything is only 100 yen each.) However, it occurred to me that it would allow me to show you, dear reader, the type of thing one can buy in these stores for just a single 100-yen coin (about $.83 US cents), and you know I spare no expense for you. Actually, there were four masks altogether for me to choose from. In addition to the Reagan mask, Bush Sr., Clinton, and Nixon visages were also available. It looked like a modern day Mt. Rushmore. (Sadly, the one which presumably would be in greatest demand right about now, that of current public enemy number one Bush Jr., was not in stock or has yet to be manufactured).
Interestingly, the label for these all feature the image of Reagan (looking decidedly more like Reagan than the mask does). It did strike me as a bit weird that in a distant suburban bottom-yen discount store in Japan, they would be selling party masks for 4 former U.S. presidents. (In fact, with the exception of a plastic Edo-era chonmage wig similar to this one, these were the only masks or costume accessories available.) Why not a Junichiro Koizumi mask? Or perhaps even more appropriate for this part of the world, a Kim Jong Il mask?
Bush Reagan Nixon Rushmore, what a horrifying thought, the stuff of neoNorthByNorthwest nightmares. Antidoted however by the great idea of ongoing old portraits of self.